The by-now-infamous press conference which saw prime minister’s wife Mrs Michelle Muscat lose her temper and have a go at the media saddened me. Fine, it also amused me but – in the longterm – the aftertaste was mostly of the ‘what a pity’ variety.

A pity that what was, in essence, a laudable initiative not only ended up sullied by what seems to be mismanagement in the best case scenario and a shocking disregard for prisoners’ welfare in its worst case.

And an even bigger pity that, offered the chance to correct the situation, Mrs Muscat did exactly the opposite, with a highly-sarcastic and inappropriate exchange with journalists. The pity here is that, with some decent coaching, this could have easily been avoided. Because, if you follow the media, my dear, any basic PR exec will warn you about the following.

You will know that a journalist worth his salt ain’t no yesman

Because let’s be honest here, we all know that that is exactly what Mrs Muscat meant when she urged the media to “be more positive”. Well here’s the latest media update for all those who prefer the media to be more positive. The media’s job is not to be positive. Sure, there is space for the positive, feel-good features on every newspaper and website, because we are all human and we all like to take a break from the never-ending stories of tragedy and corruption that we are faced with on a daily basis.

But that is not what real journalism is about. The media is referred to as the fourth and fifth estate for good reason. We are there to keep the powers-that-be in check.

Positive does not reveal large-scale corruption. Positive does not reveal social injustices. Positive does not reveal abuse of power.

You will know that throwing insults at your own press conference will backfire

It’s a sad day for professional standards indeed when, the only reply that the prime minister’s wife can come up with in the face of some pretty cutting questions, is “you’re unprofessional”. Ah, sweet irony.

When someone calls a press conference, usually it signifies an attempt to build bridges or – at the very least – offer a clarification. I’ve yet to attend a press conference where ‘insulting journalists’ and ‘being all patronising’ are included on the list of actionable items.

You will know that the prime minister and his wife are never ‘on holiday’

There is no such thing. Sure, you might be actually, physically, on holiday, in another country, even. But this does not mean that all responsibilities that the office carries with it magically cease. Ordinarily, the prime minister’s wife would not fall under the definition of ‘the office’. However, in this case Mrs Muscat opted to take a more active role and to place herself firmly as part of ‘the office’. A consequence of this is that she must now accept all the additional responsibilities this brings with it, and not just the perks.

Which means that the fact Mrs Muscat was on holiday should never have even been mentioned during that press conference. Someone less professional might have thrown that iconic Rhett Butler quote in reply.

You will know that ‘in transit’ means nothing in the 21st century

Even Joe Bloggs nowadays is perfectly reachable at airports, hotels and even on certain flights most of the time

Everyone loves staying connected via mobile phone, e-mail, Twitter, Facebook and what have you, nowadays. Until we realise that this means we’re connected, even when we’d rather not be. Sounds to me like Mrs Muscat’s ‘in transit’ failed to take this into account. Even Joe Bloggs nowadays is perfectly reachable at airports, hotels and even on certain flights most of the time – let alone the prime minister and his entourage. So, no, ‘in transit’ doesn’t quite wash, I’m afraid.

And even if, by some supernatural force, the prime minister’s wife was absolutely unreachable for any length of time, protocol dictates that a member of the PR team is always available with a polite – if not detailed – reply and a promise of more elaborate replies at their earliest. No-one drags their entire PR team on a family holiday. And if they do, well then their PR people need some fast lessons in PR themselves.

Then again, this latter point is pretty evident in the light of Mrs Muscat’s recent press conference.